There are more hungry people now than ever before. More than one billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic hunger, which is a record high. This means that more than 1 in 6 people are hungry today.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently released new estimates on the number of people who may not get enough to eat in the coming year. It is expected that more than 1.02 billion people will experience hunger in 2009, compared to 963 million in 2008. This represents a projected growth of about 11 percent more hungry people.
The increase, FAO says, is due to the combination of the global economic crisis and high food prices. The global food crisis hit its high point in 2008, leading to social unrest in countries where people could no longer afford to feed their families. Although food prices have dropped since then, in many countries, food continues to be more expensive than it used to be. As a result, the number of those facing chronic hunger and poverty continues to rise.
In response to this latest development, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has launched an online campaign, “A Billion for a Billion.” The idea is simple: how can the online billion help the hungry billion? “A Billion for a Billion” gives a voice to all those who cannot advocate for themselves.
Please ask your friends to participate in “A Billion for a Billion” so that collectively we can raise awareness about the growing problem of hunger.
Visit WFP’s “A Billion for a Billion” campaign web site to learn about ways to help.
-Jessica Alatorre
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP
Hi, everyone!
There is a new article posted in Foreign Policy magazine that builds on Jessica's argument that a well-fed world is a safe world.
Here it is: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/06/22/2009_failed_states_index_interactive_map_and_rankings
Best,
Courtney Samuels
Ohio State Coordinator
Posted by: Courtney | Monday, June 29, 2009 at 08:51 AM